Waxed Cloth Food Wrap (Made in a solar oven for bonus self-righteousness points)

...ambitious you could sew in an elastic band to hold the cover tight. How-To Making the cloths is very easy. All you have to do is cut some squares or circles of thin cotton fabric, like muslin. Pink the edges if you have pinking shears–this looks better, but I don’t think the edges will unravel much anyway, because of the wax. Size depends on intended use. I can imagine eventually having a range of sizes and shapes. For instance, I’m imagining that...

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On Living in Los Angeles Without a Car: A Debate

...alist drops in here for a weekend and files a report repeating the “nobody uses public transit in LA” mantra I’d be a millionaire. LA has a very extensive public transit system. I will admit that I prefer to ride LA’s expanding rail system (sorry Bus Rider’s Union, trains are more comfortable and you’re not stuck in traffic with everyone else). Part of Kelly’s problem is what transportation wonks call “the last mile problem.” It refers to the inco...

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How FilmLA Blocks Bike Lanes

...lict of interest. If the choice is between the safety of bike commuters or making production companies happy, you can guess that FilmLA’s likely to opt for the latter. Previous attempts to address unsafe closures of bike lanes by myself and other bike activists have gone nowhere. Call FilmLA to complain and you’ll be greeted with either indifference or outright hostility. Call the police to complain and they’ll direct you to parking enforcement. C...

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Baking Bread with Specialty Malts

...king and just use malted grains directly in your bread. The grains used in making beer are, mostly, barley that has been malted (sprouted) and then either caramelized or roasted. To make beer you soak the grains in warm water to extract the sugars that form in the malting process. Fermenting that sugary malt water creates alcohol. Most of the grain used to make beer is two or six-row malt. You add so-called “specialty” grains (that have been caram...

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Putting Your Civic House in Order: How the Young Members of the Family Help

...the mountains to the sea, with beautiful school grounds, attractive club houses, neat, trim, well-kept homes with lawns, vegetable and flower gardens, clean vacant lots, and flowers, wild and cultivated, everywhere in greatest profusion. But of even greater value than these physical things are the effects upon the individuals who wrought the change–the teachers, children and parents–and the community at large. To the teachers the contest gave an o...

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